Beginner Reptiles and Amphibians

I will often go into a pet shop and see a wide range of herps- mixed together, in poor shape, and advertised as easy to take care for, or good for beginners- This is often far from the truth. There are many great beginner herps, but don't use size and price as a guide. Pet shops often sell babies of animals that will get much larger and are not good for beginners. They will also have some animals very cheap simply because they are easy and cheap to acquire, but not necessarily easy and cheap to take care of. Always do your research before getting an exotic pet, and if you are a beginner (i.e.-first ever herp) please pick from the list of beginner species bellow.

Amphibians:
-green tree frog
-barking tree frog
-fire salamander
-tiger salamander
-Marble salamander
-fire belly toad
-American toad
-eastern newt
-Fire belly newt
-African clawed frog
-African dwarf frog

Reptiles:
-leopard gecko
-corn snake
-ball python (captive breed)
-bearded dragon (not cheap, but if you get all you need easy to take care of)
-Tokay gecko (can be quite agressive)
-anole
-kingsnake
-milk snake
-rat snake
-horsfields tortoise

Beginners please avoid anything which name ends in monitor, poison dart frogs and mantellas, large tortoises (unless you absolutely have the space), iguanas, chameleons (green anoles are sometimes called chameleons-don't be confused- they aren't), Common boas, and reticulated pythons.

If you are looking for a great book on reptiles, checkout the book in the link below.

Hiking and Turtles

I went for a short hike this past Sunday at my local nature center. It was pretty dry, and cloudy so I didn't see much. I did see a couple of turtles sitting on some logs in the pond. I also went inside the manor house to see how the animals I used to take care of were doing. Glad to say they are doing great. Most are twice the size I remember them being. Above are some pictures of the turtles I saw.